Lake Shore
Hosp Authority

Gov. Scott's LSHA Board Out of Compliance on Eve of
Final Budget Hearing: Refuses to post budget

Posted September 21, 2015 11:59 am

By Stew Lilker

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Gov. Scott's Lake Shore Hospital
Authority is out of compliance
again: this time during budget
time. Nobody tells the Lake
Shore Hospital Authority
Manager, Jackson P. "Jack" Berry
what to do. This time it is the
rules governing Florida's
special district, of which the
Lake Shore Hospital Authority is
one.

The Special District Handbook produced by the Florida
Department of Economic Opportunity provides the
following regarding general budget requirements:

With the exception of the water management districts,
all special districts must comply with the following
budget requirements: (the Handbook goes through six
general items, the final one being "Website
Requirements.")

In
law, the word "must" means exactly that. It doesn't
"maybe," or "when one gets around to it." It is a word
that leaves out all discretion.

The Handbook then lists the following website
requirements, which are not difficult to understand:

The tentative budget must be posted on the special
district's official website at least two days before the
budget hearing held pursuant to Section 200.065, Florida
Statutes - Method of Fixing Millage, or other law, to
consider such budget. The final adopted budget must be
posted on the special district's official website within
30 days after adoption.

As of September 21, the day of the final Authority
budget hearing, a look at the LSHA website reveals the
following:

1) The current tentative LSHA budget is not posted
to the Authority website.

2) The 2015 Authority budget, which was adopted
last year, is not posted on the Authority website

Epilogue

Unfortunately, the Public Records Law is not
the Authority's only casualty, as it now thumbs its
collective nose at its mandated fiduciary responsibility
to provide its budgets on the Authority's website for
its taxpayers and anyone else who would like to view
these public documents.